Tuesday, 28 February 2017

Travelling with a Toddler

The last two holidays (see my Sun and Ski holiday posts here) we’ve taken have been with Mark Warner. When your travelling with a tot in tow, everything gets that much more complicated. For the inbuilt kids clubs and childcare, to the high tea and baby kit provided, Mark Warner know just how to make it that much easier.

So when this years’ opportunity to apply to be a Mark Warner Ambassador came up, it was a no brainer. Collaborating with a brand I love to spread the word to other parents planning their week in the sun or snow is something I’m on board with.

So to apply for this opportunity I’ve put together my top 10 travel essentials to going abroad with a toddler.

As gorgeous and fun as toddlers are, they really aren’t the best travelling companions on any length of flight. Their ability and passion for running and climbing combined with their short attention span on any particular activity keeps the most enthusiastic parents on their toes. I, unsurprisingly, don’t have a magic formula for a relaxing and stress free flight, however, if your mentally prepared to be on full-on-entertainment mode for the duration of the flight and arm yourself with a few carefully chosen goodies, it should be less painful for you and your fellow passengers.

I can’t wait for our next trip!

1. Snacks. Pack more than they’d normally consume in a week, for each flight. I’m not normally a advocator of feed to keep little ones quiet, but when your in an enclosed space for a number of hours, I do.

2. Although Sophie is well past the formula days, she loves milk. To save any issues when we go away I take ready made formula for her age bracket as they don’t need to be refrigerate (so also don’t need to be warmed to take the chill off). If your organised you can click and collect these airside at the Boots at the airport to save on your luggage allowance (I do this with nappies too!)

3. Activities, new and exciting, or old faithfuls. Sophie is Peppa obsessed and loves sticker books, which can keep her well occupied for a decent length of time when she does them with Gareth or I. The Aqua Doodle is amazing too, using water to write and draw which then evaporates, ready to go again and no embarrassing doodles on the airplane or your clothing.

4. Favourite Soft Toy. A pretty obviously one, as their special cuddly friend will help them sleep on the journey and when you get to your destination. Just don’t let them lose it! Sophie is obsessed with BooBoo (the bunny) and he comes everywhere.

6. As long as your not travelling to remote areas, you’ll be able to get your hands on medicines, but thats not going to help if a new tooth starts to wiggle in the middle of the night, so pack a few handy pre-measured out sachets for emergency.

7. Thermometer is always a good idea and mine also tells you the temperature of the room so you can get the right number of layers for your room.

8. Be it a hot or cold holiday, suncream is obviously a must and you’ll save yourself the inflated prices buying before you’re in resort. Opting for a baby suncream will be sensitive to precious skin.

9. Bringing their own bubble bath and moisturiser is also going to help with their bedtime routine and a known product is going to reduce the chance of an adverse reaction too. I bought mini versions of our regulars to reduce packing space and weight!

10. Finally you just need something to put it all in! Sophie LOVES her unicorn Trunki and also doubles up as good entertainment in the airport!

Despite all my best efforts I managed to forget some of the essentials on both our holidays, including all Sophie’s swimwear when we went to Greece last year. Luckily the Mark Warner team were amazing and managed to help us find everything we forgot to pack - including a UV swimsuit that they lent us from the kids club!